A second period completely out of left field and further resilience by the Sharks propels them to a 6-5 historic overtime victory over the Red Wings in Detroit for their second straight come-from-behind victory.
Although the first period was scoreless, the Sharks had some great scoring opportunities, especially on the power play, but couldn’t find the back of the net. However, the Red Wings broke the ice at around the nine-minute mark of the second period via Klim Kostin to get the first goal of the game. Detroit extended its lead to four a few minutes later on two quick goals by Michael Rasmussen and another by Lucas Raymond. At this point, things began to unravel so fast for the Sharks. Mackenzie Blackwood was pulled from the Sharks net in favor of Kaapo Kahkonen, and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic received a two-minute minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. However, these circumstances would spark another huge comeback for Team Teal, scoring two shorthanded goals from Tomas Hertl and Fabian Zetterlund on that penalty kill, their first two shorties of the season, followed by Nico Sturm’s first two goals of the season to tie the game at four to close out an epic and unbelievable second period. William Eklund, Jan Rutta, and Mikael Granlund collected assists on the two shorthanded goals by Hertl and Zetterlund, while Marc-Eduoard Vlasic, Kyle Burroughs, Justin Bailey, and Kevin Labanc assisted on the two goals by Sturm. This Sharks-Red Wings game is only the second game in NHL history to feature six goals scored in 3:01 or less, and that second period was the first eight-goal period the Sharks have been involved in since March 1999.
Late in the third period, Dylan Larkin would score to put the Red Wings back on top, which appeared to be the game-winner until the Sharks responded on Tomas Hertl's second goal of the game with about a minute-and-a-half remaining in regulation to even it up at five, with assists from Mikael Granlund and Alexander Barabanov. Mikael Granlund would score the overtime winner 37 seconds into the OT period for his third goal of the season and third point of the night, with Fabian Zetterlund tallying the lone assist on the Granlund OT winner. This marks the first time the Sharks have earned consecutive comeback wins with a deficit of three or more goals in franchise history.
Mackenzie Blackwood recorded 16 saves and gave up four goals before his night ended, while Kaapo Kahkonen recorded ten saves and gave up one goal in relief for Blackwood. One of the biggest headlines heading into this match-up was Patrick Kane making his Red Wings debut, but that was quickly overshadowed by the absolute insanity that was the second period and the Sharks' incredible comeback from a four-goal deficit.
The Sharks are on a heater right now and have proven that they are capable of amazing things. If they can keep up their current level of play, they might just enter themselves into the playoff discussion. I haven't felt this great about this Sharks team for much of the season, and I may start getting delusional if they continue their massive comeback wins and put up more dominant victories. Team Teal closes out its longest road trip of the season on Sunday in Vegas against the Golden Knights at 7 pm PT.
Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, NHL PR
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